Press Release: 2022-01-21

Fighting Back Against Cyber Attacks

Fighting Back Against Cyber Attacks:

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Congratulations to the municipalities and school districts within the Senate district that I represent for being selected to receive funding and support from the state’s Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program. Cybersecurity experts report that hackers frequently target local governments with attacks that can damage equipment, steal confidential data, and deny access to files in ransomware demands. A report studying 7 years of data showed the average ransom amount demanded by cybercriminals was $835,758. 

Municipal and public school employees will gain access to critical cybersecurity training in order to best prepare the Commonwealth's local workforce to identify, avoid, and defend against cyber attack techniques. 

Boxford, Essex, Gloucester, Groveland, Ipswich Public Library, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Middleton, Newbury, North Andover, North Reading Public Schools, Rowley, West Newbury, West Newbury, Pentucket Regional School District, Wilmington and Wilmington Public Schools